HPU baseball drops 4-3 nailbiter to Longwood in series opener

• High Point dropped the series opener to Longwood, 4-3, on Friday at Williard Stadium.
• The Panthers put the tying run on base in the ninth but were unable to get him home.
• Redshirt-senior Scot Hoffman carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and matched his career-high with eight strikeouts.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team lost a nailbiter to Longwood, 4-3, in the weekend opener on Friday night at Williard Stadium. The Panthers’ late comeback was thwarted as the tying run was left on base in the ninth inning.

“Scot Hoffman was outstanding tonight,” head coach Craig Cozart said. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it done in the bullpen or get hits when we needed to. We made some base running mistakes that were very costly and when you are in a close ballgame the little things matter. We didn’t do those little things well tonight.”

Sophomore Austen Zente reached with a two-out single in the ninth and stole second, his second steal of the night and his league-leading 20th of the season, to put the tying run in scoring position for HPU. Unfortunately, junior Drew Fopeano grounded out to first to end the rally as the Panthers dropped to 20-10 overall and 5-2 in the Big South.

Redshirt-senior Scot Hoffman had his best start of the season on the mound for High Point, allowing just one earned run on two hits and two walks in six innings of work. The right-hander did not give up his first hit until a CJ Roth single with two outs in the sixth inning and he matched his career-high with eight strikeouts in the game, including six in a row in the third and fourth innings.

Senior Tyler Britton took the loss after relieving Hoffman and dropped to 5-1 on the season. Britton allowed three earned runs on five hits and a walk in three innings and struck out three.

Tyler Burnette got the win on the mound for Longwood (19-13, 7-3) and is 5-1 on the season with a perfect 4-0 record in Big South contests. Burnette gave up three runs, two earned, on six hits and two walks in 7-1/3 innings of work. Both earned runs that scored against the right-hander were inherited runners that came home after he departed the game. Devin Gould got the final five outs to earn his third save of the season for the Lancers.

The two teams combined for just four base runners in the first 4-1/2 innings before High Point broke the scoreless stalemate with an RBI single by freshman JJ Woodard in the bottom of the fifth. Sophomore Carson Jackson drew a walk and came around to score the first run of the night for HPU on the Woodard single. Zente tried to score from second on the play, but was thrown out at home for the final out in the frame.

The Lancers answered right back with a run of their own in the top of the sixth to tie the game back up at 1-1. Roth got a two-out single to end the Hoffman no-hit bid and Michael Olsinski was hit by a pitch, putting two on for Alex Lewis. The Longwood third baseman then hit a double to the wall in left, driving in Roth as the tying run. HPU returned the favor from the previous half inning, throwing out Olsinski at home on the play for the final out.

Longwood scored in each of the next two innings, extending its lead to 4-1. The Lancers added a run in the seventh on an RBI single by Brandon Harvell and two in the eighth on a single by Olsinski and a fielder’s choice by Lewis to go ahead by three.

The Panthers got two runs back in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly by junior Chris Clare and an RBI single by senior Tim Mansfield and went into the final frame down just one run.

Clare and Mansfield both finished the game 2-3 at the plate with an RBI while Woodard went 1-2 with an RBI and Fopeano finished 1-4 with a run scored.

High Point and Longwood will continue their three-game series on Saturday, April 9, at 5 p.m., in Williard Stadium. The Panthers need a win to avoid dropping their first weekend series since the season opener against UNCG.